Designlab ’08 Finalists For “Internet Generation”

Media Release 26 September 2008
For more information, images or video of the finalists visit:
http://www.youtube.com/electroluxdesignlab
http://www.flickrcom/photos/14665971@N05/sets

Weather On Toast - Electrolux Designlab ’08 Finalists For “Internet Generation”

Today’s weather will be mainly sunny with cloudy periods and lashings of Marmite.

That’s just one of the possibilities among the finalists in this year’s Electrolux Design Lab competition.

As well as a rollaway cooking table that tucks neatly out of sight after cooking and a laundry basket that doubles as a washing machine, one of the finalists is a toaster that can print today’s weather, news or even a photograph on to a slice of toast.

It will compete with eight other finalists for first place on October 9 in Zurich, where an international jury of renowned designers and experts will select a winner in this international competition for industrial design students.

Electrolux’s sixth Design Lab attracted more than 600 entries from 49 countries around the world. The competition has been running since 2003, following a different theme each year and challenging industrial design students to develop the appliances of the future.

This year Electrolux invited undergraduate and graduate industrial design students to create tomorrow’s home appliances for the “Internet Generation”. They were to look two to three years into the future to address food storage, cooking, and/or washing issues.

The finalists give a glimpse of what the future holds in the home, merging leading-edge online technology, compact living and traditional appliances.

Tired of carrying baskets of laundry back and forth? The see-through iBasket, designed by Guopeng Liang from China, stores dirty clothes in a washing basket that automatically washes them when it is full.

The wireless, remote-controlled appliance can be monitored from a personal computer. “As a member of the internet generation myself, the inspiration for this came from everyday life,” says design student Liang. “We are busy working and don’t have a lot of time to take care of clothes, nor do we like to.

“But today, people store their clothes in a laundry hamper until it fills up, then carry the basket to the laundry room, wash them, come back, take them out, throw them back into the hamper, carry them to a clothesline and then hang them out. I believe that iBasket offers a much more convenient alternative.”

Another finalist, the Scan Toaster designed by Sung Bae Chang of South Korea is a USB-driven toaster for late night work sessions. The toaster prints news, weather and snapshots on to slices of toast.

He said he got the idea from looking at his scanner and printer, and realising that members of the internet generation like things that are fun and interesting.

“I feel that my concept fits into that by giving them news articles or snapshots on their toast.”

The competition targets international design students who themselves perfectly represent the Internet Generation: 25- to 35-year old brand-conscious, busy young professionals, who are independent, concerned about the environment, and whose lives are intertwined with technology and online social networks.

“We received daring ideas and solutions,” says Henrik Otto, Senior Vice President of Global Design at Electrolux.

The nine finalists are:

Sook: the social networking recipe generator with electronic tongue, by Adam Brodowski, Savannah College of Art and Design, USA.

Coox: the rollaway cooking table, by Antoine Lebrun, L’Ecole de Design Nantes Atlantique, France.

E-bag: the cooler bag powered by kinetic energy, by Apore Püspöki, Moholy-Nagy University of Arts and Design, Budapest, Hungary.

Stratosphere: the sanitising clothes rack/valet, by Atilla Sáfráni, Moholy-Nagy University of Arts and Design, Budapest, Hungary.

iBasket: the Wi-Fi-connected clothes hamper and washing machine, by Guopeng Liang, Tongji University, China.

Vesta: the foldaway cooktop with RFID scanner, by Matthias Pinkert, HTW Dresden (FH) University of Applied Sciences, Germany.

Drawer Kitchen: the desk-drawer hotplate and fridge, by Nojae Park, Chiba University, Japan.

Flatshare: the modular fridge for shared living spaces, by Stefan Buchberger, University of Applied Arts, Vienna, Austria.

Scan Toaster: the USB toaster that prints news, weather and snapshots on to slices of toast, by Sung Bae Chang, Sejong University, South Korea.

The main criteria for judging the finalists are the originality of the concept, loyalty to Electrolux brand values, the creativeness of the design, consumer insight, and how much the concept reflects such iGeneration core interests and concerns such as mobility, convenience, time, materials, personalisation, entertaining, technology, and sustainability.

The Electrolux Design Lab ‘08 has a first prize of €5,000 and a six-month internship at one of the Electrolux global design centres. The second prize is €3,000 and third prize is €2,000.

The winner’s of Electrolux Design Lab’08 will be announced on 9 October.

For more information, images or video of the finalists visit:

http://www.youtube.com/electroluxdesignlab

http://www.flickr.com/photos/14665971@N05/sets

ENDS

Editor’s Notes

About Design Lab
Since 2003, thousands of design students have participated in the Electrolux Design Lab competition, which every year has a different theme (2007 green designs; 2006 healthy eating) and culminates in a different city at an international press event. Previous venues include Paris, Barcelona, Stockholm, New York, and Budapest.

Last year’s competition “Green designs for 2020” was won by Levente Szabó from Moholy-Nagy University of Arts & Design, Hungary, with E-wash, a compact washing machine that uses soap nuts instead of detergent. Australian designers won in 2003 with “Rockpool” a waterless dishwasher.

Electrolux Home Products

Electrolux Is a global leader in home appliances and appliances for professional use, selling more than 40 million products to customers in 150 countries every year. The company focuses on innovations that are thoughtfully designed, based on extensive consumer insight, to meet the real needs of consumers and professionals.

Electrolux products include refrigerators, dishwashers, washing machines, vacuum cleaners and cookers sold under brands such as Electrolux, AEG-Electrolux, Simpson and Westinghouse. In 2007, Electrolux had sales of 105 billion Swedish Kronor and 57,000 employees. For more information, visit http://www.electrolux.com/press

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